The disclosure relates generally to fiber optic connections and more particularly to a fiber organizer that may be used in retaining and routing optical fibers within a fiber optic plug connector.
As electronic devices move toward operation at faster data rates, the electrical interfaces on these devices along with the electrical transmission cables will reach their bandwidth capacity limitations. Additionally, electronic devices are trending toward having smaller and thinner footprints. Optical fibers have displaced copper-based connectivity in much of the traditional long-haul and metro telecommunication networks for numerous reasons, such as large bandwidth capacity, dielectric characteristics, and the like. As consumers require more bandwidth for consumer electronic devices, such as smart phones, laptops, and tablets as examples, optical fibers and optical ports for optical signal transmission are being considered for replacing the conventional copper-based connectivity for these applications. Benefits of optical fiber include extremely wide bandwidth and low noise operation.
In this regard, fiber optic plug connectors and fiber optic receptacle connectors (hereinafter “fiber optic plugs” and “fiber optic receptacles,” respectively) can be provided to facilitate optical connections in electronic devices with optical fibers for the transfer of light. For example, optical fibers disposed in a fiber optic plug can be optically connected to a fiber optic receptacle disposed in an electronic device for providing an optical connection to the electronic device. To maintain a good optical connection, the fiber optic plug is designed to have a tight, friction fit within the sidewalls of the fiber optic receptacle when the fiber optic plug is inserted into the fiber optic receptacle to inhibit movement at the optical interface. Thus, the fiber optic plug should be designed to have enough physical strength to receive an applied insertion force to overcome the sidewall resistance of the fiber optic receptacle when the fiber optic plug is inserted into the fiber optic receptacle.
Proper optical alignment of the optical elements within the fiber optic plug and with respect to the receptacle is required to avoid optical signal attenuation. If the optical fibers in a fiber optic plug are not properly aligned with an optical interface such as a ferrule and/or lens element, portions of the optical signals may be lost. Likewise, if the optical interface of the plug is not properly aligned with the fiber optic receptacle, additional attenuation may also occur. Thus, optical alignment throughout the plug and receptacle assemblies is required to maintain a suitable optical signal that is communicated at the optical interface.